Dicarboxylic acids and corresponding mono-methyl esters have numerous industrial and medicinal applications, including, but not limited to, production of nylons and other polymers, constituents of cosmetics, fragrances, and acne medications.
People currently use a variety of chemical processes to produce dicarboxylic acids. Oxidation of cyclic ketones, such as cyclohexanone, or unsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid, is commonly used for the synthesis of dicarboxylic acids. Currently the most widely used method to produce dicarboxylic acids currently is the bioconversion of the corresponding alkane with Candida tropicalis. This yeast expresses oxidase enzyme complexes that oxidize the termini of alkanes to the corresponding carboxylic acid. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0118433 discloses using genetically engineered Candida tropicalis cells to produce ω-hydroxycarboxylic acids and ω-hydroxycarboxylic acid esters. This method requires feeding of purified alkanes or fatty acids to the cells, using cytochrome P450s, and is limited to Candida tropicalis cells (see FIGS. 1 and 6). U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0267012 discloses a method of producing one or more fatty acid derived dicarboxylic acids in a genetically modified host cell which does not naturally produce the one or more derived fatty acid derived dicarboxylic acids.
Dicarboxylic acids are precursors to materials like polyesters and nylons, as well as high-value fragrance molecules like ethylene brassylate (see FIG. 2).